Anti-Christian violence

The editorial in the latest issue of People8217;s Democracy titled 8220;Anti-Christian Violence: Centre Must Act8221;...

The editorial in the latest issue of People8217;s Democracy titled 8220;Anti-Christian Violence: Centre Must Act8221; observes: 8220;The orgy of violence against the minority Christian community continues unabated in Orissa and other places. Despite strong presence of police, armed gangs continue to raid Dalit Christian villages killing many more in the Kandhmahal district. Their houses continue to be torched and prayer halls vandalised. 8220;The inhuman savagery unleashed by the RSS/ BJP tentacles, particularly the Bajrang Dal, has now come to light with the exposure of bestial crimes from August 24, 2008 onwards. The RSS and the Bajrang Dal have now threatened that only those Dalit Christians who convert to Hinduism can return to rebuild their destroyed homes in Kandhmahal. The allegation of forcible conversions has been the basis for launching these bestial attacks. It needs to be repeated once again that tribals all over India have their own animist religious practices. It is a patent travesty of facts to dub the tribals as belonging to the Hindu religion.8221;

The editorial concludes: 8220;In Kandhmahal there were two major tribes 8212; the Kandhas and the Dalit Pannas. Over the years sections of the former embraced Hinduism while sections of the latter embraced Christianity. It is the latter the RSS and its tentacles target in order to consolidate their Hindu vote bank. Unable to defend such atrocities unleashed by his parivar, Advani claimed that he has a soft corner for Christians as he studied in a missionary school in Karachi. In the same breath, he repeated his favourite pastime of calling for a national debate on religious conversions..8221;

Agartala blasts

A news item titled 8220;Tripura LF Condemns Bomb Blasts in Agartala8221; says: 8220;Even as the peace loving and democratic minded people of Tripura again placed their trust in the Left Front through the just concluded by-elections to a total 167 seats of various local bodies, the fissiparous forces driven to despair and desperation carried out the first ever serial explosions in the state capital on Oct 1 to trigger terror and communal turmoil on the eve of various socio-religious festivals. The Left Front swept 154 out of the total 167 seats of the local bodies, elections to which have been held on Sept 27. Within a few hours after the declaration of election results, the state capital was traumatised by serial terrorist explosions ripping through a busy bus depot and two market places on Oct 1, 2008.8221;

The report adds: 8220; Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and some of his cabinet colleagues visited the spots and the GB Hospital. The state government will bear all the expenses of the treatment for the injured and the police and administration has gone all out to nab the culprits.8221;

India loves Bush

An opinion piece titled 8220;1 2 38230;I Love Bush8221; by G Mamatha says: 8220;On September 26, 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told US president George Bush 8216;The people of India deeply love you8217;. Manmohan Singh profusely thanked Bush for finding time to spend with him and host a dinner for him at the White House in the middle of 8216;his pre-occupation with the financial crisis8217;.

8220;Our PM is busy undoing all the good that existed in our foreign policy because of his love towards Bush. We the people of India love all the valiant martyrs and fighters who fought against imperialism. It is ironic that when the ratings of George Bush in his own country and across the world have taken a deep plunge, Manmohan Singh8217;s love for him has increased deeply.8221;